


Gonna Get Close To You

by Vorcha_Girl



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: D/s, Dark Romance, Dom/sub Play, F/M, Fingerfucking, Kidnapping, Light Dom/sub, Makeup Sex, Oral Sex, Power Play, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-11-06 09:31:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11033445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vorcha_Girl/pseuds/Vorcha_Girl
Summary: Reyes Vidal never expected Sara Ryder to save Sloane, let alone for her to shoot him in the back. Now he's in hiding and determined to make her pay for betraying him. The problem is, as furious as he is with Sara, he isn't quite over her yet, and it seems that she isn't over him either. Which makes taking revenge a very pleasurable affair indeed.





	1. Prologue

_A/N - I wrote this fic for the lovely art-by-rinrin on Tumblr, who requested a post-High Noon Reyes romance with a Ryder who had sided with Sloane ... and this idea was born! I'm really excited to share it all with you, because although it's dark, it has an awesome twist which I'm looking forward to trotting out! :) It will be in three parts - a prologue, two main chapters, and an epilogue. I hope everyone really enjoys it. Thank you for reading, and of course I'd love to know what you think in a review._

_*Edit* Please note that in chapter two there is a "kidnapping" followed by a light sexual encounter. The chapter is from the "kidnap" victim's pov; she initiates the sex, wants the sex and it is consensual. If you are uncomfortable with this situation, dl:dr. Easy as that._

* * *

 

The last of the 645 year old triple-distilled Mount Milgrom whiskey shimmered and danced in Reyes’ glass, reflecting the artificial lights of the Draullir base. Rich colours. Warm Colours. _Plundered beauty._ It went down a treat as he lifted it to his lips, inhaled the familiar smoky scent, and drained the glass.

The whiskey brought back memories of _that night_. Of lounging on the cargo crate with Sara Ryder, their legs dangling over the edge as they drank and laughed. Of the sweetness of her lips when he kissed her, and the iron strength of her hands when she pulled him close. Of whispered words, broken promises, and a perfect night between the sheets with a woman who had been his match in every way.

Or so he had thought.

He set the tumbler down and fingered the tingling scar on his shoulder absently; at least Sara had given him something to remember her by. _Damn her_ . Reyes scowled. The scar always itched and tingled when he thought about her, and it seemed to catch fire and burn as he relived the moment everything had all fallen apart for him.  
  
Sloane _should_ have died.  
  
_Would_ have died.  
  
But _The Pathfinder_ had stopped him.  
  
In retrospect he should have known she would. He should have known that Sara would not let any relationship between them, passionate and intense though it was, compromise her honour or sense of right and wrong. His mistake has cost him dearly. She had not only saved Sloane's life instead of allowing him to kill her as he had gambled, but when he tried to make a quick getaway she had shot him in the shoulder.  
  
Sara, _his Sara_ , had shot him.  
  
He traced the edges of the scar, brooding, something like fury still simmering in his belly every time he thought about her drawing her gun and firing at _him_. His plan for The Collective to take out Sloane and claim Kadara Port had come spectacularly undone, and of course Sara had walked away from him. It rankled more than he expected, losing her. Normally he walked away from his lovers when things became too intense.

But not this time.

And now all he had to remember her by was an unfulfilled ache in his loins, a bullet hole shaped scar in his shoulder, and a powerful need to have Sara back in his hands once more. Completely at his mercy. An image flashed through his mind of Sara tied up in his bed, _naked_ , _helpless_ , her eyes flaming with defiance … and _lust_.

Reyes grunted as his body reacted to his thoughts and he began to harden, his pants growing uncomfortably tight. He scowled again, dismissing the daydream, and flicked his fingers against the empty whiskey glass, sending a crystalline sound chiming through the room. A foolish dream, but an alluring one all the same, and one which haunted him on far too many nights.

He hated himself for it, but the Pathfinder seemed to be a kind of drug that he had become addicted to. She’d crept under his skin until all he could think about was her. He hated her. He loathed her. He wanted to make her pay for what she had done to him.

But _Dios,_ he still burned for her.

Reyes forced his mind back to the task at hand, to gathering resources and funds for the Collective. They were still going strong despite Sloane’s attempts to take them down, thanks mostly to the numerous bases and safehouses which Reyes had assembled in preparation for all out war. The stockpiles of credits and weapons had been a stroke of foresight which in retrospect he was especially glad of.

But, while the weapons would last, the credits would not, and without the credits to fund his operation things would fall apart fast. Sure, he could farm his people out like mercenaries on jobs to make money, but the thought left a sour taste in his mouth. They were fighting for Kadara after all, and not for credits. And besides, thanks to a rather _brilliant_ idea from Keema, he hoped to soon have a way to get all the credits he needed … and from the Nexus no less.

Tann and his cronies on the Nexus valued one thing above all others at the moment: their hero of the hour. The Golden Girl herself. _Their_ Sara Ryder. And Reyes was going to find out exactly how much their dear Pathfinder was worth to them.

He had laid a trap on Kadara, one which he knew Sara would be unable to resist. All he had to do now was wait for her to take the bait, and he would have a very valuable hostage to ransom to the Nexus. One he knew Tann would pay a great deal of credits to get back.

The thought made Reyes grin again and he lounged back in the seat, idly dragging a finger around the rim of his whiskey glass as he smiled a jackal’s smile, feral and hungry, and imagined the look on Sara’s face when she realised who had caught her. Would she be angry? Furious? _Aroused_ ? The thought was enough to send the blood in his body south again, and he shivered in anticipation.  
  
He got to his feet, the warmth of the whiskey coursing through his body as he rolled his shoulders and began to gear up, visions of a helpless Sara begging him to make love to her echoing in his head. Separating The Pathfinder from her people would be tough, and whisking her away without them following would be even more difficult, but Reyes was looking forward to pitting himself against her. He almost hoped Sara gave them trouble and made herself a challenge; he liked the thrill of the chase.

She wouldn't be hurt of course, that was out of the question, but seeing her again, even as a hostage instead of as an ally, would be a great pleasure.  
  
A _very_ great pleasure indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N - Thank you so much to everyone who is reading along, who has subscribed, and to those amazing people who took time out of their day to leave me a review. I really appreciate it! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I had a blast writing it! :)_

* * *

 

_Flash Grenade!_

She caught sight of it too late, and Sara’s world spun around her in an explosion of light and sound which knocked her senseless. Stars burst before her eyes, blindingly white, and noise like an untuned television rang in her ears, deafening, squealing. She reeled, one hand reaching for the cave wall in an attempt to steady herself as she sensed movement around her.

SAM’s voice buzzed in her head, distorted and fuzzy, and she winced, unable to make out his words over the ringing in her ears. Her senses scrambled, she clutched one hand to her head and cursed herself for coming here alone and without backup. She could have told Peebee what she had planned, or even Vetra. They could have come along and kept to the shadows.

But … no. In the end there had been no option.

She’d been left with no choice but to come here alone.

It had started with a woman on Elladden who’s daughter had been kidnapped by raiders. The Tempest crew had tracked them to Kadara, and after doing some discreet asking around, they’d been contacted by the kidnappers who had demanded she come to this navpoint alone. No armour. No backup. Limited weapons. They’d claimed they wanted her to negotiate a deal with them.

Foolishly, she’d come in here alone expecting to meet people face to face; not to get ambushed.

Liam and Drack were nearby at the Nomad, but not close enough to get to her in time if anything happened. God, what she wouldn’t do to have one of them with her right now. With her senses scrambled she was totally helpless, and the feeling of being at someone else’s mercy wasn’t something she’d ever wanted to feel again after tangling with the Archon.

Worse still were that these nav points were bringing back all kinds of memories. _Of course the nav point would be inside the Draullir cave system,_ she thought crossly as she sensed movement hear her; _of course they’d want to meet close to the last place she had seen Reyes all those months ago._

All she could do was hope and pray that the people she was supposed to be meeting were who she suspected they were, and not someone different.

Hands seized her, pulled her up and locked omni-cuffs around her wrists. Sara blinked as the world moved around her in a hazy series of after images that were burned into her eyes. She knew better than to fight whoever had hold of her, not when she was in no condition to do anything even if she managed to get away, so she allowed them to steady her as she swayed. Slowly, the ringing in her ears faded and her vision cleared enough for her to focus on what was happening around her.

_The Collective._

She’d know that armour anywhere. Sara stayed perfectly still as the hands holding her arms tightened and she felt the heat of someone stepping close behind her. There was a faint smell of whiskey, machine oil, and cologne, and her stomach twisted with nerves. She didn’t need to turn and see who had hold of her, she already knew who it was.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone,” Reyes growled in her ear, his voice sending shivers down her spine.

Her legs buckled, and his grip on her arms tightened in a distinctly sexual way as he held her up through sheer brute strength. Sara cursed herself; she hadn’t expected seeing Reyes again to throw her like this.

She turned her head sideways and saw him smirking at her arrogantly. “Still trotting out that line? You haven’t changed one bit.”

He laughed huskily and Sara went still as he began to disarm her, passing her weapons to a waiting agent. The feel of his hands skimming over her unarmoured form brought back memories which she’d tried hard to forget. Memories of long nights in the dusky lighting of Tartarus; of Reyes unclipping her armour, his eyes dark with lust, and his own arousal evident against the fabric of his trousers… .

_No._

Sara shut down that thought. She needed to stay focused right now. If Reyes had lured her out here than he wanted something, and she needed to learn what it was.

“It’s good to see you again, Sara,” Reyes said conversationally as he removed her omni-tool and amp-port. “After our last parting I wasn’t sure we would ever cross paths again, but here we are.”

“Yes, here we are. Strange meeting you here like this when I was supposed to be meeting _kidnappers_ ,” she narrowed her eyes, but Reyes was unperturbed and continued checking her body for weapons.

One of his underlings stepped forward and motioned as though he would take over patting her down, and she caught the ferocious scowl that Reyes threw him. _Interesting_ . Despite the possessive look, his hands were business like as they skirted over her. He didn’t take any liberties, though he had every opportunity with her restrained. _Even more interesting._

“Well, you are meeting kidnappers,” he laughed softly as he patted down her legs and then vaulted back to his full height and stepped close behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “ _Us_ . It’s just the victim who has changed. I’m afraid there is no poor little girl and no helpless mother requiring your help. Just us.” He leaned even closer, and his warm breath brushed against her ear. “Just _you_.”

Sara tried to turn to face him, but he held her firm. “So you’re after me?”

“Oh, we’re not “after you”. _We have you._ ” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Tann will pay quite a bit to get you back, and besides,” he dropped his voice so that the others couldn’t hear. “You and I have some unfinished business, don’t we?”

She shivered and Reyes tightened his hands on her shoulders. The atmosphere between them buzzed in a not entirely unpleasant way, and she willed herself to swallow down the feelings he aroused in her. He’d just admitted that he was here to kidnap and ransom her after all … but her body and emotions paid her mind no heed. They never had. Where Reyes Vidal was concerned she had never had much willpower.

And the bastard knew it.

“Spread out,” he ordered his men, his tone switching to one of absolute command. “I want watchers down all the main tunnels on the path to the shuttle, and alerts sent to me at the first sign of anyone approaching.” Reyes trailed his hands down her arms and fastened them around her wrists. “We’re going for a ride, you and I,” he told her in a drawl. “Your people know about the base here, so we’ll be going somewhere a little more secluded. Just the two of us.”

 _That_ surprised her, and she swallowed hard but said nothing, deciding that placidly going along was the best move for now. She didn't want to make this too easy for him - that would look suspicious - but she didn't want to cause mayhem and bring Sloane down here either. And anything in between might just land her in more trouble. She couldn't afford for Reyes to knock her out, and since she was vastly outnumbered, and without her omni-tool, weapons or amp, there wasn’t much she could do other than see what he had in store for her.

 _Ryder, if you are in need of assistance, you have only to speak up,_ SAM told her, his voice echoing in her head.

She shook her head slightly; there was no telling what Reyes would do if her people swarmed in. There were too many Collective agents around them. SAM would hopefully be able to read her slight shake of the head and know what it meant. The last thing she needed while she was in such a precarious situation was for Drack or Liam to come storming in. 

She needed to get Reyes alone; the sooner, the better.

The Collective members fanned out and disappeared into the darkness to watch their leaders back. Reyes gave her a shove towards a tunnel ahead, and with feigned reluctance Sara allowed him to move her towards the darkened entrance. Her feet stumbled over the stones on the uneven floor, and to her surprise, Reyes steadied her instead of letting her fall.

His touch sent shivers down her spine, and she fought not to let him see how he was affecting her.

“I see you’ve been busy?” Sara commented as they walked, nodding at the generator powered lights which dotted the walls every ten metres or so. “I’m surprised you had time for so much expansion with Sloane hunting you down.”

“No thanks you to you,” Reyes replied smoothly, anger colouring his tone like the shake of a rattlesnakes tail.

She gritted her teeth, unwilling to let him lay the blame at her door. “You _lied_ to me-”

“I never said I _wasn’t_ the Charlatan,” he fired back without missing a beat.

“You never told me the truth either. You acted as though you weren’t the Charlatan. You even spoke about them in the 3rd person.” Sara stopped working and turned her head so she could see his eyes. “You’re a lying asshole.”

He scowled. “Keep walking.”

“Or what?” She narrowed her eyes. “You’ll shoot me?”

Reyes smiled, and Sara’s blood ran cold. “I should,” he said cooly and his hands squeezed her wrists tightly enough that she struggled not to wince. “Fair is fair; you shot me. And in the _back_ no less. I knew you’d be angry at me, Sara, but even I didn’t expect _that_.”

Neither had she if she were totally honest. Opening fire on Reyes as she chased him had been an instinctual reaction to chasing someone who was a _bad guy._ Too late she’d tried to stop herself. Her shot had gone wide, and had taken him in the shoulder instead of the head, but she’d still shot Reyes.

She wouldn’t blame him if he hated her.

The anger bubbled back through his voice again, red hot, dangerous, and she shivered. This side of Reyes had always lurked beneath the surface; in the shadows in his eyes, and the hunger of his kiss. But she’d never had the full force of his anger aimed at her before. There was power in his voice that made her tummy flutter with nerves and Sara’s breath hitched as his thumbs brushed against the inside of her wrists.

A soft touch, but was it a warning … or something else?

She continued walking without him having to ask again, her eyes zipping from side to side as tunnels opened up like honeycomb to the left and right, the dimly lit passages glowing with a faint phosphorous light.  There was no way of knowing where any of them led without her omni-tool, but she couldn’t just allow him to capture her without putting up a tiny bit of a fight; that would look suspicious. 

A tunnel on the right looked promising, and when she drew alongside of it Sara pretended to stumble. Reyes steadied her again, and as he moved closer Sara snapped her head backwards and headbutted him with a sharp _crack!_ The back of her skull connected with his nose and Reyes let go of her, cursing furiously as he stumbled away, his hands pressed to his face.

Sara bolted down the side tunnel, moving as quickly as she could though the semi-darkness with her arms cuffed behind her. She caught her shoulder on a protruding wall and cried out as she almost fell. Somehow, she managed to keep her balance and kept running, narrowly avoiding more jagged chunks of rock that stuck out at odd angles.

“Sara!” Reyes roared from behind her, and she heard the sound of his pursuit as he chased after her. “Dammit! Don’t make me shoot you!”

Would he shoot her? She was betting not; not after everything Keema had told her at their last meeting.

She tried to run faster as he closed in, but Reyes clearly knew these tunnels better than she did, and she heard him draw closer. He called her name again, and Sara risked a quick glance over her shoulder. He was so close! Her hip grazed a wall and she let out a gasp of pain and stumbled. A moment later she heard a grunt and a strong pair of arms wrapped around her legs as Reyes tackled her to the ground.

They crashed to the floor in a tangle of violently struggling limbs, muffled curses, and desperate grasping hands. Sara managed to aim an especially vicious kick at Reyes' face as he fought to pin her legs, and he snarled as her foot connected and for a moment she was free of him. She managed to get to her knees and crawl a few metres before he was on her again, this time he wrapped his arms around her waist as he brought her down to the ground.

“Fuck!” he growled as she writhed in his arms, her legs kicking to get free. “Hold still!”

“Let go of me!” She spat in reply, twisting frantically, dust and sand billowing around them.

Despite her efforts, Reyes’ superior weight, height, and strength won out as she knew they would, and after a few minutes of her ineffectual scuffling he managed to pin her; his body straddling hers as he used his hands to pin her shoulders when she tried to rise. They were both breathing heavily, and when he dropped his face lower, his chest heaving as he sucked in a breath, Sara felt blood drip onto her face.

She’d split his lip.

 _Good!_ She thought fiercely. _That would show him that she wasn’t some easy prize for The Collective to scoop up!_

It was important he knew that.

Reyes stared at her from inches away, his face hovering over hers. His eyes blazed with … _something_ … something she couldn't’ quite read, and when his eyes flicked to her lips, the atmosphere buzzed with tension. To her surprise, Sara felt her body react to the pressure of his weight on top of her, and she shifted her hips without meaning to, pushing up against him. She'd known she missed him, but she hadn't thought he would affect her so easily as heat bloomed between her legs, desire stirring in her belly.

His eyes flew to hers and their gazes clashed, the atmosphere tightening with electricity as he subtly shifted his weight, grinding his hips against hers, and leaned down until his lips hovered an inch above hers. _Was he going to kiss her?_ Sara’s heart pounded, and she realised that she hoped he would.

She wanted him to kiss her.

She wanted him to do far _more_ than kiss her.

“You didn’t shoot me,” Sara said softly, breathing in the scent of Reyes; a smell of whiskey, blood and engine oil.

He smiled, a baring of teeth really, and his hands flexed on her shoulders. “Maybe I’m planning on punishing you in another way?”

For a moment, just a beat, she hesitated, wondering what madness had possessed her, then she swallowed her pride and embraced the nervous fluttering in her stomach and the desperate hunger beginning to pulse through her veins. Reyes affected her in ways she couldn’t control, he always had, and right now he was turning her on.

And he knew it.

_They both did._

“Like what?” she asked, aware that she was playing with fire, but unable to stop herself as she pushed against his hold; her upper body rising slightly from the floor.

Reyes pushed her firmly back to the ground. “First I’m going to tie you up so you can’t move,” he told her huskily. “At all. You’ll be completely immobile.” He ducked his head lower, sliding his lips along her cheek as he spoke. “And then I’m going to make you regret choosing that bitch over me.”

“Maybe I already regret choosing that bitch over you,” Sara countered, testing the water.

He laughed softly. “Then I’m going to make you a whole lot sorrier. You _betrayed_ me, Sara. You shot me.” He fastened one hand in her hair and slid the other one down to her waist. His eyes burned down into hers; bitter, angry, but so hungry that Sara couldn’t help but respond. “Did you think of me at all?” He asked. “When you lay in bed alone at night? Did you miss the touch of my hands? Of my mouth? Of my body on y-”

She kissed him before he could finish his sentence, caught his lips in a searing kiss that she’d been holding inside since he’d first touched her. A silent scream of hunger and loneliness, of regret and anger, and a million _could have beens_. Reyes broke as soon as her mouth met his, and he kissed her with a passion that drove her head back into the hard stone floor.

Sara didn’t care.

They ate at one another's mouths in desperation; the kiss all lips, teeth, and tongue. Hungry groans escaping them both as Reyes’ hand tightened in her hair and he anchored her to the floor while he thrust his tongue into her mouth, the coppery taste of his blood mingling with the ever present taste of whiskey. She fought against the cuffs at her wrists; not because she wanted to get free, but because she wanted to wrap her arms around Reyes. To run her fingers through his hair. To scratch her nails down his back.

“Get these cuffs off me!” she begged as he pulled his mouth from hers and nipped his way along her jaw, biting just this side of too hard.

He laughed. “I don’t think so. I like having you helpless.”

That was no surprise; he'd always liked bondage games.

“Bastard!” She gasped as he bit the soft skin on the side of her neck, his teeth leaving imprints.

His tongue flicked out, dipping into the hollow of her throat, teasing her. “Mmm, but a handsome one, right?”

She groaned. "Touch me then! Please!"

Reyes kept her pinned to the floor as his hand obligingly slipped between their bodies and moved between her legs, rubbing precisely where she was aching for him to touch her; stroking her through the fabric of her pants. She cried out and pushed against him as he grinned and leaned back to watch her eyes.

“You like that?” he rasped, clearly turned on.

Sara nodded.

“Say it,” he ordered, his voice sharp with command. “Say you like me touching you. Tell me you want me to fuck you. _Beg me_.”

Her breath hitched as he removed his hand from between her legs, and she whined in frustration. “Reyes!”

“Beg me,” he said again, and nipped at her lower lip, his eyes blazing with desire. His hands tightened in her hair, winding tighter and tighter until she cried out and her back arched. “Say it!”

Her hand scrabbled on the floor under her in desperation, and she drew in a sobbing breath as she strained against his hold. “Please touch me!” she begged. “Please don’t stop! Please!”

“Good.” Reyes kissed her in reward and his hand moved to the waistband of her pants. He unsnapped the button and inched his fingers inside. “Keep going.”

Sara rolled her hips towards his hand and whimpered. “Reyes! Please!”

_“Keep going.”_

She craned her head up and pressed kisses along his jaw, desperately, her body screaming for his touch. “I want you to fuck me. Here. Now. And I’ll do anything you fucking want.”

He let out a long shaky breath and kissed her, his mouth hard and hungry, as though he were trying to devour her.

“Sara,” Reyes growled her name, something dark moving behind his eyes. His hand slid into her pants, and with a wicked smile that should have terrified her, his clever fingers slipped between her legs. “You don’t want to know what I want to do to you.”

His fingers traced the length of her sex, slipping between the folds as his thumb circled the highly sensitised nub at the apex of her thighs. Sara’s breath hitched and she rolled her hips towards his touch, wanting more, wanting it all, as he played her like a musician with a favoured instrument. She was already wet and he grunted his approval as he thrust two fingers into her, and began to pump them in and out slowly, his amber eyes watching every expression that crossed her face.

“I thought about you every day after you left,” he growled as he released her hair and caught her chin in his hand, forcing her to look straight at him. “I used to fantasise about what I’d do to you if I ever got you alone. How I’d make you pay for betraying me. For shooting me-”

“Reyes!” She tried to speak, to explain to him that she hadn’t meant to shoot him, but he shushed her.

“Quiet.” Reyes tipped her head back and bit her neck in punishment. The sharpness of the pain mingled with the warmth of the pleasure he was giving her, so that she only moaned and writhed; the delicious heat spreading through her body

When she’d settled down again he placed a kiss over the bite and continued. “I used to think about making you pay by ruining your reputation, or by luring you out here on a mission and leaving you stranded, maybe even wounding you like you wounded me. But,” he thrust his fingers deep into her, and Sara whimpered, her back arching as she curled her legs around him. Reyes smiled. “But what I really wanted to do was make you admit that you were wrong. To make you come back to me. Because you were wrong, weren’t you?”

It wasn’t an idle question, and Sara nodded. Desperately. Quickly. “Yes. Yes, I was wrong.” She tried to kiss him, but he held her jaw fast and kept her pinned down, holding himself just out of reach.

“You made a mistake, didn’t you?” he growled as he crooked his fingers inside of her, running them over that spot that made her body ring with pleasure, and she jerked under his touch, crying out.

“Yes. God yes.”

Reyes laughed and lowered his face to hers, holding his lips just out of reach. “You’re mine, aren’t you? _My woman_.”

Sara looked up into his eyes, watched the darkness flit through them, and nodded as she gave herself to him. She wanted this. Wanted this badly. Had been wanting to return to his arms and the fierce dominance of his bed ever since she’d left it.

She nodded. “I’m yours, Reyes,” she whispered, letting him see the absolute surrender in her eyes as she yielded. Maybe she was playing with a loaded gun and would get herself hurt, but she didn’t think so; Reyes wanted this too.

She could feel his desperate hunger for her straining against his pants.

Sara spread her legs wider and bit her lip as the circular motions his thumb was making around her clit quickened. Her heart began to hammer as he growled and his eyes lit up with triumph; the alpha male claiming his victory.

“Yes.” He hissed the word through clenched teeth and kissed her hard, driving his tongue into her mouth and swirling it around hers as he brought her with his hand, his fingers thrusting deep as he stroked her nub. She writhed against him, every nerve ending on fire, helpless to fight her climax as it rushed over her, heat burning through her body and washing her away.

She came down from the high slowly, endorphins tingling through her body as her heart thudded hard in her chest. Reyes kissed a slow trail down her neck, and sucked on her pulse point, hard enough that she knew he would leave a mark. A very deliberate mark.

“God, you look so good like that.” He sat up and looked down at her as he pulled his hand from her pants. “Helpless and mine. I like it.”

Sara blinked at him and stretched, her body still aching for more. “I want you,” she murmured.

He smiled smugly. “Oh, you’ll have me.” Reyes laughed. “Or more likely I’ll have you, any which way I want you. But,” he leaned down and kissed her, his hands cupping her breasts and then moving lower as he buttoned her pants. “You’ll have to wait. Anticipation is going to make it all the sweeter.”

She ran her eyes over him, his flushed face, the way his hands were lingering on her body, the obvious swell in his trousers, and smirked. Reyes was barely holding himself in check. She rubbed her cheek on his leg and rolled her eyes up to look at him.

“As long as I get to taste you soon, I’ll be happy. I want to make you feel good too.”

He drew in a deep breath at her words and scooped her into his arms, grunting at he got to his feet. “If I didn’t have men stationed all around these tunnels, and your people probably looking for you, I’d fuck you here and now. But I want to take my time, and I’m not keen on being interrupted.”

Reyes stalked back along the tunnel she’d run through earlier, carrying her with ease. How much time had passed? Hours? Minutes? Sara had no idea, though as they passed some Collective agents, they looked at them curiously and one of them tried to hide a smile as he saw her dishevelled appearance.

She hid her face in Reyes’ shoulder.

 _Fuck them. They could think what they liked._ Reyes would probably have some good sized bruises forming on his face from her kicks soon, so it wasn’t like they knew what he’d just done with her. His hand squeezed her thigh as they made it to the end of the tunnel and he hurried her out to the waiting shuttle, his men surrounding them in a tight pack as though as expecting her team to appear and attempt a rescue.

 _Not going to happen,_ she thought dryly. _No one is coming for me. Not yet._

“Stay here and keep an eye on the base. You know what to do if Sloane tries anything in the caves again.” Reyes said as he set her down on a seat and turned to look at one of his men.

The agent glanced at her and then back to his boss. “And her people? If they show up?”

Sara held her breath.

“Don’t do anything. As far as they knew, Sara went to meet kidnappers. Stay out of their way and keep a low profile.” Reyes clapped the man on the shoulder and began to close the hatch. “I’ll be in touch.”

He moved back to the pilot's seat and started the shuttle, his hands flying over the controls so fast that Sara couldn’t help but be impressed. As the Charlatan he could have had somebody else doing these sorts of jobs for him, but it was clear that Reyes had been keeping himself in practice.

“Where are we going?” she asked as the shuttle lifted off with a gentle bump.

Reyes gave her a sidelong glance and his face split into a wolfish grin, his eyes darkening as he angled the shuttle towards the distant mountain ranges. “Oh, someplace quite far away,” he said conversationally. “Someplace where no one will find us, and we can be alone for as long as we need.” He gave her a long meaningful look and then turned back to the controls.

“Alone, huh?”

Sara shivered in anticipation and bit her lip as butterflies danced in her tummy, her eyes on the distant hills. Going with Reyes like this was a risky move, there was no denying it; he was the Charlatan, and a dangerous man. But she wanted to be with him. She wanted _him_.

And besides, she hadn’t been lying when she’d told him that she regretted siding with Sloane.

“SAM,” she saw Reyes head snap around to look at her as she spoke, his eyes darkening with fury as he realised who she was speaking to. “I want you to go into privacy mode. Logs off until I say otherwise.”

 _Yes, Pathfinder. Going offline._ She could sense SAM’s disapproval, could hear it in his voice, but with a small tingle at the base of her skull he went offline and she was truly alone.

“We’re alone now,” she explained quietly. “For real.”

Reyes visibly relaxed and the anger drained from his eyes as he realised what she’d done. “You trust me?” he asked, his voice husky.

Sara bit her lip and nodded, enjoying the way his eyes moved over her body. “I know you won’t hurt me.” Her lips curved into a small smile and she shrugged. “At least, not until I ask you to.”

His eyes flicked back to hers at that comment and he smiled smugly. “Oh, this will be _fun_.”

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_A/N - I've had to split this chapter in two, so there is a second part coming with ... a lot of smut, lots of Reyes x Sara moments, and a big plot twist. I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I'd love to you know what you thought._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N - Apologies to everyone who waited so long for this chapter. I’ve been slowly writing it for the last few weeks. :) Hopefully you all enjoy my promised plot twist - though most of you clever cookies have worked it out for yourselves, I’m sure. Thank you also to the people who left reviews on the last chapter. The art for this chapter is from Beragera on Tumblr. Thank you lovely!_

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Sara watched Reyes as he piloted the shuttle, taking them further away from the caves, her team, and his men. Five minutes ticked by, then ten. _Just a little further_ , she knew. He wouldn't stray too far from his usual base of operations. Reyes liked his safety nets. Having his people close, _but not too close_ , would be important to him.

Neither of them talked, though Reyes cast the occasional sidelong look at her, his eyes unreadable and his expression guarded. She leaned back in her seat and flexed her hands, working more blood into them as she wondered if she should tell him yet. But no. Not yet. The game needed to play for a little bit longer. They needed to land and she wanted to see that _look_ in his eyes again before she let things go any further. The heated feeling from earlier had faded somewhat, and while her body was still tingling and she still wanted him, Sara knew she needed to talk things through with Reyes before they took things any further.

The truth was that she missed him; asshole that he could be. She missed the sex, it was true, but she missed so much more than just their physical connection. She missed the long nights when they stayed up plotting about the future, discussing Kadara and all it could be if only Sloane weren’t in charge. She missed the thrill of fighting by his side, of watching him move stealthily, silently, before taking people out.

The only thing she didn’t miss were the lies, and there had been so many of them.

Too many.

_And who’s the liar now, Sara?_

“We’re here.” Reyes announced, pulling her from her thoughts and dragging her back to the moment.

She recognised the place they were descending to; the factory where Sloane had had scientists manufacturing Oblivion. A roll of revulsion spread over her, and for the first time since seeing Reyes, a genuine feeling of fear spread through her.

“Reyes-”

He looked at her, and the hard unreadable look in his eyes softened for a moment. “It’s been stripped back and left bare for months. Don’t worry, I didn’t bring you here to pump you full of Oblivion and watch you suffer.” He snorted and shook his head. “I can think of at least five other ways to make you squirm, and all of them are a hell of a lot more pleasant for me than turning you into a zombie. Besides, I’m not a monster.”

The childish urge to stick out her tongue assailed her, and Sara bit it back, rolling her eyes instead, which only made Reyes laugh.

“You started this,” he reminded her, his tone darkly amused. “You kissed me.”

“I did,” she agreed easily.

Sara looked out the window and tried to hide her smirk. Things had gotten a little carried away back there in the cave, but all it had done was prove that she and Reyes were just as compatible now as they had been before the Sloane incident. Even a bullet hadn’t changed that. He was furious with her, but he didn’t hate her. Not like she would have hated him if he’d pulled the same stunt.

“A few things first before we go inside,” Reyes said, shutting the controls down and standing. He towered over her in the small space, and Sara had to crane her neck to look up at him. “I’m after credits here. And yes, maybe catching the Pathfinder and knowing that I bested you is a bonus. But money is all I wanted when I plotted this. By now Tann will have been contacted by a 3rd party acting on my behalf. I don’t want the Collective being connected with this, after all.”

She nodded. “Okay, so you want money.”

Reyes hesitated, his eyes simmering as they slid over her. "You know I want more than money; I want _you_." His voice dropped an octave and he stepped closer. "You told me you wanted me to fuck you back in that cave, and I waited. But now that we're here, I'm not waiting any longer. " He hesitated for a moment, his coppery eyes lingering on hers. "But ... I do _not_ want to look at the vids in a few weeks time and see stories about how the Charlatan "took advantage" of the Pathfinder-”

Sara laughed before she could stop herself and was pleased to see him look annoyed. “I’m sorry, but putting aside the fact that you’re not some animal and I'm not some damsel in distress, _and_ the fact that I practically begged you to do me in the cave back there, do you _really_ think I’d let you do anything to me that I didn’t want you to do?”

Reyes frowned, and she could see him fighting not to argue with her, could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to work out if this was a game, or if she was being serious. They’d been away too long, Sara realised. He was too unsure of her, and the wonderful rhythm of their earlier passion for one another had stuttered to a halt.

“I told you earlier, I know you’re not going to hurt me until I want you to.” She leaned back in her chair. “And the time will come when I’ll want you to do all sorts of things to me. But,” the word hovered between them for a moment, “we do have things to discuss first.”

His confusion was evident, and Sara smiled as the power tipped more in her favour. “What things?”

“Take these off me, and I’ll explain.” Sara stood up and turned around, showing him her cuffs. “Unless you’re worried you can’t handle me one on one?”

“Oh, I can handle you.” Reyes evidently felt safe enough to release her now that they weren’t airborne and were in a secure location. He removed the cuffs in a deft movement, the touch of his fingers against her skin leaving her tingling. His hands lingered on her wrists a moment longer than they needed to, and he leaned close, his lips sliding against her ear. “Happy?”

She turned and gave him a grateful nod. “Very. Now, to business-”

He lifted an eyebrow and leaned against the flight console, putting space between them as though he needed the distance to think clearly. “To business already? First the cave and now the shuttle?” Reyes gave her a cocky grin. “Kinky.”

Sara bit back the urge to grin; _she needed to stay focused._

“Business first, and pleasure later. If you still want to.”

He frowned and stepped forward, the movement forcing her back into her seat. “One thing I’m not clear on; why would you have business for me if you didn’t know I was waiting-” Sara smiled slightly and shrugged as she saw realisation enter his eyes. “Fuck!” He slammed a hand into the back of the pilot’s chair. “You _knew_ I’d be there! That’s why you weren’t afraid! Who told you?”

“No one,” she crossed her legs and watched him fume, enjoying the strange transfer of power as Reyes worked out what was going on. “I didn’t know the how or when, but I knew you’d be coming for me. Keema owed me a favour, and I needed to talk to you, so when I heard about your financial difficulties, I suggested to her that perhaps she should mention that a Pathfinder would be a valuable hostage to ransom. And Keema seemed to think that you weren’t quite, _hmm_ ,” Sara paused and tugged on her lower lip as he watched her, apparently transfixed. “Well, not quite over me, shall we say.”

Reyes hands curled into fists and Sara fought not to flinch as he loomed over her. “You _shot_ me! Of course I had lingering feelings about being shot by the woman I fucking love.” His eyes blazed but he stepped back as though he didn’t trust her. “So, you knew I’d come for you at some point?”

_He loved her._

She tucked that knowledge into a safe place and continued. “I was counting on it. I had no real proof that the kidnapping I was investigating was you, but I had my suspicions. You _did_ give me a hell of a fright in the cave with that flash grenade though. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Sara watched him carefully, this was the part that she had dreaded. There was no telling how Reyes would react to learning that she had played him - worst case scenario, he’d put a bullet in her like she had him. But she doubted it. Keema was right; Reyes wasn’t over her anymore than she was over him.

Seconds ticked by as he watched her, his hazel eyes glittering as they stared into hers. Finally he let out a long breath and crossed his arms, his movement stiff and angry. “So what do you want? I’m guessing helping my financial situation isn’t your actual reason for doing this?”

“I don't give a shit about Tann and the Nexus,” she waved her hand vaguely. “Take him for all he’s worth. I’m here to talk to you about Sloane.”

The name fell between them like a sword and Reyes straightened, tension radiating from him in waves. “Sloane?” he spat. “What exactly do you have to say to me about her?”

She could feel his anger, could almost see him reliving the moment when she had betrayed him to side with Sloane. The tension in the room shot up, and his jaw clenched as he glared down at her as though remembering her greatest crime of all: she had betrayed him.

She had betrayed _them_.

“I made a mistake,” Sara said simply and sighed as she sat back in her chair. “And Sloane needs to be stopped before things get worse.”

He blinked at her, and something caught fire in his eyes. “You … made a mistake? A fucking _mistake_? You’re telling me you couldn’t have just sent that in a message?”

“Keema suspects that have people in your ranks working against you, agents who are working with Sloane. I couldn’t risk this looking like anything other than it was; a kidnapping. And besides,” Sara said huskily, leaning back and stretching. “I missed you, and I knew you’d like catching me. I couldn’t make it look like I wasn’t struggling, now could I?”

Her words seemed to throw him, and for a moment Reyes said nothing, he just stared at her as though trying to work out her angle. Then he sighed and sat back down on the pilot’s seat, swivelling it around to face her. He rubbed his temples and abruptly laughed.

“Okay, I’ll admit, I didn’t see this one coming.” He inclined his head. “You played me. Gold star for you. But before we go any further, I have to know, what happened back there in the tunnel, was that an act? Or was that-?”

“Real.” Sara bit her lip and nodded at him, kneading her fingers in her lap. “I never meant to shoot you, and I missed being with you after you’d gone. Choosing Sloane was a spur of the moment decision because I was angry that you’d lied to me. And I,” she shook her head and looked down at her hands, “I really fucking regret it. She’s a monster. You might have lied to me, but at least you were straight up about _fucking me_. Sloane is screwing me in a hundred different ways.”

Reyes laughed again. “A monster is putting it lightly. At least you stopped the drugs, but I’ve heard all about what she’s doing to anyone she suspects is a Collective member. The torture. The so called ‘medical tests’.” His voice dripped with distaste. “And I hear your outpost isn’t going so well?”

“She’s bleeding us dry, and gives us no protection from raiders.” She leaned forward. “I want her gone.”

“So,” he smiled and his usual darkness flittered through his eyes. “You need me.”

“I need you.”

His smile widened as he stood and extended a hand down to her, the power shifting back again. “And what do I get in return?”

Sara took it without hesitation, and he pulled her to her feet. “Kadara Port-”

“I want you back,” he said it without hesitating, without pausing. And his arms slid around her waist. “If what we had back there in the tunnel was real, if you still want me, I want more than just Kadara Port. I want you by my side.” His voice was quiet. Intense. “I can’t stop thinking about you, about us, about what you did to me. It’s driving me mad.” Reyes tightened his arms and pulled her closer, sliding his mouth to her ear. “If I do this, it’s a package deal. We take Kadara Port and we try again. Us. Not as a fling or a hate fuck. But for real.”

Sara nodded and relaxed against him; she’d hoped for this, prayed for this. Had spent nights waiting for Reyes to make his move against her, hoping that he still felt as crazy for her as she did him. An endless march of nights torturing herself about what she’d given up when she walked away from Reyes. Countless lonely night thinking about him. Missing him.

“Yes,” she agreed. “We try again.”

He squeezed her and let out a breath that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than relief. “You have no idea how many times I thought about this moment.” He chuckled. “Though to be fair, I was furious at you for a long time. I used to think about ways to get back at you-”

“Should I be worried? Would it help if I got on me knees and begged? If I came crawling back?” Sara could see the idea appealed to the part of him which enjoyed such sexual games, but Reyes shook his head, all business.

“No, it’s satisfying know that Sloane is screwing you over just as badly as she is the rest of Kadara Port. And hearing you admit you were wrong. _And_ having you come back to me.” His hands slipped lower, following the curves of her body. “I never thought you’d change your mind. You’re so _stubborn_.”

She leaned close and kissed along his neck, smiling when he grunted and clasped his hands to her waist. “I’m not too big to admit when I’m wrong, and I was wrong. I’m sick of them all, Reyes. I’m sick of Sloane’s demands on my outpost, and I’m sick of Tann ordering me here and there instead of letting me do my job.”

“Ah, so this way you get to hurt both of them,” Reyes surmised. “I forgot how cut-throat you could be.”

“Practical,” Sara said and nibbled his neck for good measure. “I’m practical, and I’m sick of being told what to do and where to go by these people. My brother is awake now, so as far as I’m concerned he can take over the role of Pathfinder and deal with Tann as soon as he is physically able.”

Reyes jerked and pulled back, his eyes searching hers. “You’re going to give up being the Pathfinder?”

She nodded, the thought of being free of the heavy responsibility far too tempting for her not to have thought of it; to not longer have Tann and Addison breathing down her neck, or a crew of people depending on her, would be heaven.  The job of the Pathfinder wasn’t for her. Her brother would be better suited for the job; he was even tempered and better with political wheeling and dealing, while she …

Sara smiled as she remembered shooting Peebee’s ex girlfriend just to get her hands on the Rem-Tech.

She was definitely far too quick-tempered to be the Pathfinder. Trigger-happy with a bad temper, Tann had ranted at her on more than one occasion for her brutal tactics and careless disregard for his rules and regulations. Her brother, she knew, would eat them up in her place.

“Fuck Tann and the Nexus,” she shrugged. “I never wanted to be the Pathfinder, it was something my father forced on me. The only place I felt like I fit in, the only place I ever enjoyed spending time, was here. So yeah, fuck being the Pathfinder too.”

Sara laughed in delight as Reyes growled his approval and walked them through to the back of the shuttle, pushing her up again a stack of supply crates and pinning her there. His face was cast in shadow, but somehow his eyes still gleamed down at her; something of his internal desire peaking out. The look always turned her on, it were as though Reyes couldn’t decide if he wanted to devour her whole, kiss every square inch of her body, or fuck her senseless.

He certainly had earned his callsign Anubis, not only for the jackal-headed God tattoo he had on his chest, but for the ruthless streak running through him. You could see the predator in his eyes and in his smile, though given that it was the same look she so often saw on her own face, she recognised it for what it was: hunger.

Reyes pinned her hands against the crate and slid a leg between hers. “So what’s the catch?” he asked, holding her tightly enough that she couldn’t get away, but not so tight that it hurt.

“No catch,” Sara smirked. “Well, other than asking you to stop bleeding the Outpost dry when you takeover.”

“I think we have a deal, then.” His mouth met hers in a slow burning kiss that stole the breath from her body. She tried to lean into him, to deepen it further, but he chuckled and moved his lips out of her range. “Not so fast, little cat.”

 _Little cat_ , he hadn’t called her that since their last time together, when she’d scratched up his back and he’d said the moonlight reflecting in her pale blue eyes made her look especially feline-like. He’d joked that she was the Bastet to his Anubis, that they were a jackal and a lioness; two predators drawn together.

“Please! I want-”

He chuckled, a deep sound of male satisfaction. “Oh, I know what you want, and I fully intend to give it to you. If you’re good.” She stopped struggling and swallowed as she stared up into those eyes. “Tell me what you want.”

“You.”

Reyes’ teeth glimmered as he smiled. “You can do better than that. Describe it. Tell me what you want me to do.”

He’d always liked dirty talk, and Sara leaned her head against the crates as she thought. What did she want? His talk earlier of tying her up had turned her on, and their play had involved rope before. If she told him what she wanted he was also likely to deny her, to tease things out, to drive her insane with desire before he finally brought her to climax.

The thought gave her shivers of the very best kind.

“I want the cuffs back on again, and then I’ll go down on you. I’ll suck your cock until you’re hard and aching, and then I want you to fuck me on these crates. Hard and fast. Not gentle.” She whimpered as Reyes wound his hand into her hair, not pulling not hurting, but holding her fast.

“And if you want me to stop?” he queried.

“Peaches,” she supplied her safe word, blushing slightly. They’d always used the same safe word, though they’d never had to actually _use_ it. Their games were about power, not pain. And Reyes had never pushed things too far or done anything to make her too uncomfortable.

He released her hair and retrieved the cuffs. “Clothes off.”

His voice was satin over steel, smooth as silk but with a hard edge of control. Sara followed his instructions instantly, the familiar sense of calm falling over her as she turned herself over to him. When she was finished he cuffed her hands behind her back and then undressed himself, muscles coiling under his skin; she counted each new scar he had. As he turned to place his shirt down, she saw the bullet scar on his shoulder and sucked in a small breath, guilt worming through her.

But he’d healed.

 _They’d_ healed.

Excitement burned within her when he turned back, the expression on his face one which set her pulse racing. The shuttle wasn’t comfortable, but they made it work, and she knelt in front of Reyes as he sat in the chair she had recently vacated. The floor of the shuttle was hard and cold under her knees, but the feeling was secondary to the hunger pounding inside of her to taste him again.

He ran gentle hands along her body, his fingers trailing across the curve of one hip, and then sliding upwards to trace a delicate path around the pebbled tip of one nipple. The silence was broken only by the soft gasps she made as he touched her, until finally he buried his hands in her hair. No words were needed, even after months apart they knew each other intimately; knew what the other liked in this dance.

Sara took him inside of her mouth slowly, enjoying the hot velvety texture of his length as she licked around the head of his erect member. Reyes groaned and his hands tightened in her hair. She took him deeper into her mouth, sucking gently and rolling her tongue against his shaft as she worked her way down until she reached his base.

Reyes held her there for a moment, his body trembling, then he released her so she could pull back and draw breath. She rolled her eyes up to watch him as she went down on him, taking him as deep as she could again, relishing every expression that crossed his face, every twitch of his body under hers, every flex of his fingers in her hair. Her head bobbed up and down faster as she got her rhythm, swirling her tongue around his head before swallowing him down again and again.

He moved against her, his usual iron control slipping as his hips rolled to meet her movements, his hands tightening in her hair until with a small sound he pulled her away from him and got to his feet. His breathing was fast, his eyes were dark with lust, and he slammed her back against the crates once more, kissing her soundly, his tongue thrusting deep into her mouth.

Sara flexed her fingers behind her back, enjoying fighting the restraints, wishing could get free so she could wrap her arms around him too, but loving the feeling of him holding her so tight. His erection pushed against her belly, hard and demanding, and she rubbed herself against him eagerly, wanting _more_ , wanting him inside of her. Reyes broke the kiss and stroked his hands down her body, squeezing her breasts and dropping them down to her hips, his fingers stroking her softly as he lowered his mouth to her neck and sucked on her pulse point.

She whimpered and struggled against him as he sucked, and Reyes broke contact to aim a dark look at her.  “Stay still.”

Sara nodded and complied, fought not to make a sound as he rewarded her with another love bite on her neck and sucked again, his tongue lapping against her skin. When he drew away a second time, he looked down at her neck and smiled, tracing a hand over the mark she knew he’d left there. _Mine_ , his eyes seemed to say, _my woman._

“Reyes!” she breathed his name, desire thrumming through her like a livewire, burning beneath her skin as she ached for him. “Please!”

His smile widened, and again it was that all too familiar smile of Anubis, his jackal smile, the one she loved and dreaded; which filled her with a terrible kind of excitement. Reyes turned her over without a word and bent her across the top of the crates, the wood rough against her skin. He pinned her there and kissed a burning trail down her spine, nibbling and licking, pulling sounds of pleasure from her as surely as a musician plays an instrument.

Sara panted, trembling as she lay before him, strung out on pleasure and sensation as Reyes finally spread her legs and stepped close behind her. She tried to stay still, but it was impossible when she was burning so badly for his touch, and she wriggled impatiently. So many lonely days and nights had separated them, so much regret and bad blood, but finally they were putting it to rest.

He guided himself to her entrance with one hand, and wrapped the around her cuffs, his fingers intermingling with hers. Sara gasped as Reyes pushed inside of her, and he groaned as he felt for himself how slick and wet she was for him. With one hard thrust, he sheathed himself inside of her and paused, drawing in a shuddering breath as he leaned down and kissed the nape of her neck.

“You’re so sweet,” he murmured, his voice husky with desire. “And all mine.”

Reyes began to drive himself into her hard and fast, the force of his thrusts slamming Sara against the crates. It felt wonderful, a heady mix of pleasure and pain, of rough play and gentle touches. She panted and gasped, pushing back against him to meet his movements, her body ringing with a desperate need that filled her with a dizzying buzz. She wanted him. Needed him. And as the pleasure built she heard herself moaning and whimpering his name, pleading with him to go faster and harder.

He caught her hair in his free hand and wound it tightly as he fucked her, his movements losing their fluid rhythm as he drew close to his release. Sara relished the feel of him thrusting within her; the feel of his member stretching and filling her so perfectly. Pleasure spread within her, warm and tingling, and she panted as her climax rushed over her all at once.

She sobbed his name as she came, twisting and writhing in his grasp as roll after roll of ecstasy hit her. Reyes wasn’t far behind, and he thrust deeply into her as he found his release, shuddering with the force of his pleasure before he collapsed onto her back, breathless and sweaty. It was like no time had passed at all, Sara thought giddily, as though Sloane had never come between them and they had never been apart.

With a click Reyes released the omni-cuffs and Sara brought her aching shoulders forward, groaning with relief as he took care to run gentle hands over her wrists and along her arms, and rubbed her shoulders until the stiffness has gone. He gathered her into his arms and easily picked her up, settling her against him as he sat himself back down in the chair.

“You okay, little cat?” he asked.

She nodded, and when she looked up Reyes had something that looked like the bastard child of a smirk and a grin on his face.

“You look pleased,” she commented, snuggling up against his chest. “Like the cat that got the cream.”

“Or the jackal that got the cat.” His grin widened and touched the Anubis tattoo on his chest. “You should get one of Bastet. We can match.”

Sara rolled her eyes. “No thank you, I’m sure I read somewhere that matching tattoos are a surefire way to kill your relationship.”

Reyes laughed, a genuine roll of amusement. “Shit, you shot me and I’m still here. Something tells me that this thing between us is a little harder to kill than the average “relationship”.” He let go of her briefly to make air quotes.

“Do you want to risk it?” She asked, smirking.

He shot her a dirty look. “Of course not.”

“Then no matching tattoo for me. Besides, I’d rather get something classic like a skull with a snake coming out of it, or an anchor with ‘mom’ beneath it.” Sara sat up and stretched on his lap, enjoying the way Reyes’ eyes roved her body. “So, want to hear my plan for how you can take back Kadara port?”

Reyes blinked in surprise. “You have one?”

“Of course.” She leaned forward and kissed him, a devilish grin playing around the edges of her smile. “Have you ever known me not to plan ahead?”

He snorted and wrapped his arms around her again. “If I didn’t before, I sure as hell do now.”

Sara grinned and kissed him lightly. “Precisely, now listen and learn as I tell you exactly how we’re going to take down Sloane … .”

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_A/N - I have a final to go and then I’m finished. I hope you enjoyed this._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N - A big thank you to everyone who supported me while I wrote this story, and especially to the lovely Rin! Because this story is for her. I appreciate all the comments people have left, and I'm really touched that so many of you have read along. Thank you very much for your kind words! I hope you enjoy the final chapter! :)_

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The Collective gang members fanned out around Kadara Port in the dim pre-dawn light. Their movements were silent and stealthy as they moved into place to take out key communication points for the Outlaws, to assassinate key members of Sloane's gang, and most importantly, to get Reyes into her main facility.

No alarms sounded as the minutes slipped by. No cries of panic broke the stillness of the night, and one by one the agents slipped into the shadows, and vanished into the Outlaw strongholds.

Sara Ryder smiled.

She sat watching Reyes’ people, _her people,_ from her vantage point on top of some cargo crates. The very same place where she and Reyes had once watched the sun go down after their date at Sloane’s party. It felt fitting somehow; to return here when she had come full circle with him, to bring things back to where they had first begun.

That night Reyes had told her that he wanted to be somebody. At the time she hadn’t really understood what he meant, but she understood now. He didn’t just want to be somebody; he wanted to be somebody _else_. And finally, after long months without him by her side, without his touch or smell or taste, she knew what it was to want to shed her skin and start again.

She blinked her pale blue eyes as sounds finally began to filter through the night. Gunshots, screams, and the sound of footsteps as someone fled through the dark. Smiling, she raised her sniper rifle and sighted through the scope as an Outcast member appeared in an alley. He looked young, terrified, and was running towards Sloane’s main building, no doubt to raise the alarm.

Sara put a bullet between his eyes with one well placed shot, reloaded and waited. The Port was alive with noise now, though most people had the good sense to stay inside. She watched as another Outcast member, missed in some earlier sweep, made a break for the docks in an attempt to flee. She didn’t bother to aim at him; the docks were already under Resistance control. Keema had seen to that and she would take care of him.

It hadn’t taken much to push the Resistance into a more active role in this little uprising. Some leaked footage of Outcasts members beating angaran citizens, a report from Keema about Sloane spouting anti-angaran sentiments, and the evidence Sara had planted that incriminated Sloane for her kidnapping.

Her smile stretched into a feline grin, her teeth glimmering in the starlight; Evfra may not like working with her and the Initiative, but he certainly didn’t want to jeopardize their frail alliance when they had proven themselves so adept at killing kett. He had been quick to join forces with Reyes and launch a quiet assault on the Port to ‘liberate’ both his angaran citizens and the Pathfinder.

Sara took out another few Outcasts members who tried to flee, counting the minutes as they passed. Explosions sounded from within Sloane’s main facility, followed by the sound of a gun fight. Her heart sped up. And her grip on the gun tightened as her eyes stayed locked on the doors, waiting for him to appear.

 _Come on Reyes_ , she thought fiercely. _Kill her. Do it and Kadara is ours._

A blue light flashed twice through one of the windows, the sign she had been waiting for, and she stowed her sniper rifle and jumped lightly from her perch. She bounded from crate to crate until she reached the ground, then stalked towards the building. Sara pulled her handgun out and kept it by her side as she prowled through the streets.

Collective members joined her as she walked, their faces fixed in stony expressions. They took up posts outside of the main building when they reached it, and many of them nodded at her as she passed. The doors to Sloane’s sanctuary were unbarred and wide open, inside two guards lay dead, their throats slit. Yells were coming from side doors; the furious dual tones of a turian who she thought might have been Kaetus.

She walked on.

More bodies littered the halls, though fewer than Sara had expected. Bullet holes riddled the walls, and here and there were char marks where hand grenades and charges had been detonated. More Collective members were guarding the inner doors to Sloane’s throne room, and they opened the doors and waved her in, closing them behind her again.

The room was cast in long shadows, and the pale dawn light filtered in shimmering lines along the floor. Dust motes danced in the air like fairies. It appeared empty, but she felt eyes on her and knew that she wasn’t alone; Reyes was in here somewhere. Watching her. Enjoying his victory. Savouring the moment.

Sara stepped down into the room, her footsteps echoing softly. She half-expected to see Reyes lounging in Sloane’s throne, but it sat empty. Instead, she caught movement off to one side, and she peered into the gloom, trying to make him out.

_There._

His outline was unmistakable. The long line of his torso, his lean hips and broad shoulders, the slightly bow-legged stance of someone who had spent too much time in space. Her heart sped up, pounding in her chest as he moved forward, keeping pace with her as she walked, something predatory in his movements. Butterflies swirled in her tummy and heat burned in her veins; she knew this game well.

Sara glimpsed clinging drops of crimson across his front as Reyes moved from shadow to light, stalking her through the cavernous chamber. He paused, silhouetted briefly, then stepped back into the darkness so that the softly reflected light set his features aglow.  He looked feral as he watched her from the shadows, golden eyes burning, blood smeared down his front, and his teeth bared in a triumphant smile.

“Sloane?” she asked as she reached the throne and sank into it, curling her legs neatly under her and reclining back in a serpentine pose. The heat simmered in the air between them, a shimmering aura of pent up need.

His smile widened into his usual jackal-grin and he prowled forward, cocky, arrogant, and somehow sensual despite having just murdered god knew how many people. Though she could hardly talk; she’d probably killed just as many herself.

“Gone.”

“Dead?” Sara narrowed her eyes, following the lines of his body.

Reyes laughed. “Oh yes. Very much so. Though we took Kaetus alive.” He reached her and Sara uncurled a leg, stretching it out and digging the heel of her boot into his chest to halt his progress. His eyes flashed in annoyance as she kept him at a leg’s distance, and he placed a hand on her calf. “Move this. _Now_.”

It was the tone of command that did it, that started _the game._

She smiled innocently. “Make me.”

He didn’t hesitate, and Reyes moved faster than she expected. He took her leg in both hands, twisting her ankle so that she gasped and tried to pull her leg back. Grinning, he held on and twisted harder, and Sara gripped the arms of Sloane’s chair tighter, gritting her teeth against the pain. She glared at him defiantly as he lifted her foot away from his chest and stepped between her legs instead.

When he let go it was sudden, and she fell back against the chair as Reyes laughed huskily and pinned her arms. Sara’s breath caught in her throat and warmth pooled in her belly as he pressed his body against hers. A delicious excitement spreading through her as he nuzzled her neck, nipping her throat gently.

“I’ve always wanted to fuck you on this chair,” he confessed in a low growl. “Ever since I saw you sitting here during Sloane’s party.”

Sara groaned as his hands tightened around her wrists. “You saw that? I thought you were in the store room hunting for whiskey?”

He leaned back a little and stared into her eyes. “I watched you for a while; drinking and having fun. I couldn’t help it. I’ve never been able to help myself when it comes to you.”

He kissed her then, dipping his head and catching her mouth with his. Sara pulled against his hold, fighting to break free even though she knew he had the stronger position and much greater strength than her. His tongue swirled around hers, his teeth nipped at her lower lip, and she tipped her head back to give him better access, groaning as he deepened the kiss further still.

His hands slid from her wrists down the sleeves of her leather jacket, and with a growl he tugged it from her shoulders and tossed it aside. Then he pulled her shirt from her pants and lifted it over her head. Her bra went next and his hands drifted down her chest, gently squeezing and shaping her breasts; his touch warm and familiar. The pads of his finger tips were calloused, and she groaned as he circled her nipples with his thumbs, then bent his head and took one and then the other in his mouth.

Sara lifted her hands, intending to hold onto his shoulders, but Reyes caught them in one hand and pinned them back against the chair.

“No,” he growled firmly. “Hold still until I say you can move.”

She nodded, swallowing, and gasped as he fastened his mouth back around one nipple, drawing it deeply into his mouth and sucking, then biting down hard enough that he left a mark. She whimpered and writhed, pleasure throbbing through her in a slow steady beat as he made his way across her chest in a series of smaller love bites and repeated the treatment with her other nipple. She felt the sensation right down in her gut, and she strained to break free.

“Reyes! Please!”

He pulled back and caught her chin in his hand. “Did I say you could talk?”

She shook her head, her breath coming in short pants as he leaned close and she felt his erection straining against the fabric of his pants, long and hard. Reyes kissed her hard, his mouth punishing, and when he drew back his eyes were burning hotter than ever.

“Stand up,” he ordered in a voice like iron.

Sara obeyed instantly, her heart pounding with excitement. Reyes unsnapped the fastening of her jeans and peeled them down, her underwear coming off with them. He boots provided a brief obstacle, but he removed them quickly and skimmed her pants the rest of the way off. Her eyes darted to the doors; if someone came through now there would be no hiding her nakedness from them.

The thought thrilled as much as it terrified her.

Reyes followed her gaze and smiled. “Don’t worry, little cat. They’re under strict orders to give us privacy.” That fierce smile widened. “No matter what they hear.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Are you going to make me scream?”

If he was mad at her for talking without his permission he didn’t show it as he smiled.

“Oh yes,” Reyes murmured and lifted her up, settling her on his lap as he lounged on the throne. His hands travelled down the long lines of her back and he cupped her ass. “I’m going to make you scream my name over and over. But first, I want you to suck my cock. All this fighting has got me hard.”

Sara shivered as his voice dropped to a low growl, and she wriggled pleasantly, grinding herself against him. Reyes grunted and, with a jingling of metal, he unbuckled his pants and pulled his erection free. He pumped his hand up and down his shaft, his honeyed eyes shimmering with heat as his gaze locked with hers.

“Mmm, so I see,” she murmured, her gaze dropping as she watched him touch himself. “Very hard.”

She leaned forward and kissed him, her tongue sliding along his lower lip in a tantalising line as she took him in her hands. He was hard and velvety smooth, and she drank down his groans as she teased him. She kissed along his jaw and down his neck, then gave his mouth one last kiss for good measure before she slipped off his lap and knelt between his legs.

Her body hummed with desire, and Reyes buried his hands in her hair, moaning her name as she slowly took him into her mouth. She flicked her tongue over the tip of his cock, then circled her tongue around his head before taking him deeper into her mouth. He bucked his hips, eager sounds escaping him as she swallowed him down.

She took as much as him into her mouth as she could, enjoying the feeling of his thickness filling her mouth and throat as she worked her tongue up and down his shaft. When she finally needed to take a breath, she eased up and let him to set the pace, using his hands in her hair to guide her as she gave him head. Sara allowed him to slide smoothly in and out of her mouth, sucking hard as she rolled her eyes up to watch him.

Her cool blue gaze met his coppery orbs, their eyes burning like ice and fire as he thrust into her mouth and his hands tightened almost painfully in her hair. Sara could feel his desire for her burning in the desperate way he clasped her head. And she burned for him too, heat pooling between her legs as, with a muffled curse, he pulled himself from her mouth and hauled her back up his body.

“God, you’re fucking sexy,” he groaned as he caught her to him, a thumb tracing her lower lip. “ _Mi Reina_.”

Reyes lifted her onto the arm of Sloane’s chair and lay her down, the look on his face fiercely hungry, like a man who’d been crawling through a desert for days and had finally glimpsed water. He leaned down and kissed her, his mouth hard, desperate, his hands gripping her wrists tightly -  as though part of him still feared she would vanish again.

He stretched her arms out above her head and pressed them down, the movement forcing her back into an arch, the tips of her breasts pointing skywards.

“That looks perfect,” he murmured huskily, his voice carrying a steely edge of command as his eyes trailed down her body. “Stay like that.”

Sara nodded, and and bit her lip as he lifted her legs and hooked them over his shoulders. He didn’t bother to undress himself, and somehow that appealed to her; that Reyes was so turned on that he didn’t want to take the time to remove any more clothes.  There was certainly a fine tremor in his hands, and his fingers clasped her hips painfully tight as he moved between her thighs.

She shivered at the look on his face, at the hunger in his eyes; that familiar look as though he planned to eat her alive.

God, she’d missed it.

Sara felt wild as Reyes pressed himself against her, one hand guiding his length to her entrance, the other hand holding her hip. His eyes met hers, pinning her like a butterfly as he teased her, running the head of his cock along her slit, teasing her folds before he finally eased his tip inside of her. She whimpered, her heart hammering as his mouth quirked in a fierce little smile and, gripping her thighs with both hands, he pushed himself inside of her; hilting himself with one hard thrust.

She gasped and cried out, her back arching further as her fingers scrabbled for purchase behind her. Finding nothing, she gripped the only thing she could, the back of Sloane’s chair as Reyes fucked her in long hard strokes. He withdrew himself almost completely, until only his tip remained, and then slammed himself into her again and again.

Sara tried to meet each of his thrusts with movements of her own, but his hands settled on her hips and he held her still, his pace increasing as he pounded into her harder and faster. She knew he needed to control this, to be in charge tonight. And though it was rough and fierce, it was the kind of love-making that they both enjoyed, and she curled her toes as the ecstasy built inside of her.

He bent her legs almost double and leaned down to kiss her, his breath coming in short pants. Sara whimpered against his lips, a delicious warmth sizzling through her veins at his slick movements. It felt wonderful. Better than wonderful. She could feel the pleasure building inside of her like a wave. Like light. Like pressure. As though she were going to explode from all the tension and warmth inside of her.

“Reyes!” Sara all but cried his name as her release tore through her all at once; loud moans spilling from her throat and echoing around the room as she writhed in his arms. The wonderful ecstasy of her orgasm sending flutters of pleasure through her body.

She caught a glimpse of Reyes’ face, slack with pleasure, as he followed her over the edge and spilled himself inside of her. His fingers convulsed, bruising, and he dropped his head to the crook of her neck, breathing hard. He recovered quickly and pressed kisses along her collarbone, then lovingly traced his hands down her body as he stepped away and cleaned himself up.

Sara took a little longer to come to her senses, and she was glad for the glass of water that Reyes brought to her as he helped her sit up.

“Don’t tell me that was too much for you, little cat?” He asked with a smile, through his eyes slid over her face carefully, as though searching for any signs of discomfort.

“ _You?_ Too much for me?” She smiled weakly and sipped her water. “I’m just tired,” Sara confessed, and passed him back the glass. “Someone had me up all night going over last minute plans for a raid on Kadara Port.”

Reyes grinned, lounging on the throne while she dressed. “It was a good plan,” he said absentmindedly, reaching out a hand to stroke her thigh while she tied her boot laces. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that I didn’t shoot you when you ran away from me in the cave that day?” His eyes glittered with a devilish light. “The urge almost overwhelmed me.”

Sara shot him a dark look. “I hope that’s a joke.”

He chuckled. “Of course it was. I could never shoot you. Or … could I?” His grin stretched a little wider and he cocked one hand into a finger gun. “ _Bang_.”

“Very funny,” she grumbled as she caught his hand and tugged him closer, pulling him into a kiss. “So Reyes Vidal, you got Kadara Port and you got me. What’s next for the Charlatan?”

He shrugged and pulled her onto his lap, toying with a lock of her hair as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “To be completely honest, a few weeks ago all I could think about was making you pay for walking out on me. And make no mistake, I was _completely_ obsessed.” Reyes drew back and looked at her, his golden eyes still burning in the dawn. “I’d never have hurt you, and I’d never have made you do anything you didn’t want to do, but dammit woman, I wanted you to admit that you were wrong to betray me. I wanted you to beg me to take you back.”

Sara almost smiled. “I see that plan didn’t exactly work out?”

“Not exactly,” he admitted, and that wolfish smile crept back across his face. “Though I’m hardly going to complain about having you jump my bones in the cave. It was unexpected … and sexy.”

“I missed you,” she said simply. “And I wanted you to know.”

Reyes smiled, one of his rare smiles that reached his eyes and made them dance. For a moment he looked at her in silence, and as he did the sun finally rose over horizon, and the room, which had been lightening with the dawn, burst into shades of blood red as the sky reflected the sunrise.

He leaned forward and kissed her then, his leathers creaking as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad you did. I’m not an easy man to be with, _Mi Reina_ , but I do love you. And as long as you’ll have me, I’m yours.”

Sara sighed happily and burrowed close to him, ignoring the dried blood that still clung to his clothes as she relaxed. “I love you too, Reyes.”

Finally, she was home.

 

_~ End_

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_A/N  - And that brings Gonna Get Close To You to an end! Thank you for reading along. I will be writing more stories about Reyes and Sara - they've become favourites of mine! ^_^ I really hope you guys enjoyed their story - dark though it was!  Reviews and comments are always loved._


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